Wednesday, December 31, 2008

There are people in your life who've come and gone They let you down and hurt your pride Better put it all behind you; life goes on You keep carrin' that anger, it'll eat you inside

I heard Don Henley's "Heart of the Matter" on my iPod the other day and this song just spoke to me regarding a friendship that went horribly wrong. There is so much that could be said, but if I keep carrying that anger, it will eat me up inside.

2008 has been one of the hardest of my life, but is by far the best. My relationships with friends, family and Greg have been tested, proven and strengthened.

I love each and every one of you. Thank you for your support, your love, your friendship. You are the rocks of my foundation and without you, there is a hole in my life.

With more love than can be written in words, a very happy new year to you all. I look forward to experiencing it with you.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Did You Know? - I fell while snowboarding a month ago and tore my rotator cuff? I also have what's called an "impingement" which means my shoulder bone is crushing my muscle and causing me to be in pain, oh, about 24/7. Thank God for pain pills. :) That's why I'm MIA. That and work is crazy busy. I promise to put more time into posting regularly. :)

Did You Know? - Christmas was wonderful. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Mau loves Christmas - can't you tell?

Stella loves the tape -

Max loves the bows and Greg loves his Shop Vac

Leetle blurry, but cute!

Better. I got that vest that morning from Greg's mom and wore it all day.

Did You Know? - You can follow my blog? Look over there ---->See where it says "Follow This Blog"? Click on that. Follow me. Show me the love. :) I'll bake you cookies. Or I'll buy them from the store and put them on a fancy plate and ACT like I baked you cookies. Either way, you win.

What I Have Learned in 2008On Life: • Speak from your heart and not your mind. • Change isn’t always bad and can be welcome. You may not like it at first, but you will appreciate it later. • In the end, it’s between you and God, not you and them. • Karma is real. You get back what you put out.

On Love:

• Just because you’re a communications major, in touch with your emotions and can communicate effectively does not mean you actually do this in real life.

• Love is not always easy. But it’s worth it.

• People do not change. We become reflections of who we are at our core, but we remain the same.

• Never treat the one you love the most the worst. It makes no sense.

On Friendship:

• Being friends with someone because it is convenient is not really convenient. Being friends with someone because it’s easy really is easy. And worth it.

• Just because you give someone love and friendship does not mean that they own that love or friendship. Think of it as love on loan. You must remember that it can be taken from you at any time.

• Not everyone is a decent, loving, kind and good person; though most people are.

• Not everyone can be trusted. It does not mean that you shouldn’t trust.

• Sometimes the people you think are only kind of friends turn out to be the best kind of friend.

• Don’t invite people to parties if you don’t want them there. They will always show up. Maybe it’s just to spite you, maybe it’s because they are nosy and want to know what’s going on.

On Buying and Owning a Home:

• Buying a house IS indeed one of the hardest things you'll ever do as a young adult. It's also one of the most rewarding, frustrating and eye-opening experiences of my life.

• Your huge closet will not stay full once you buy a home. You will learn to wear the same shirt next season. And the season after that.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What's in a name? If authoring a blog, a lot, really. When I decided to publish a public blog, the first and most important detail to me was the name. To me, a name says so much about who you are and what you're all about.

I held a contest on Facebook (where else?) between all of my friends asking for their input.

Kate offered "confessions of not quite a cat lady" which I giggled at, for a while, until I realized that everyone thinks of me as the cat lady.

Next!

Kate countered with "how about confessions of a hippie chick?" which was pretty clever, yet didn't have THE NAME written all over it.

Guapo says "Behind the Chedder Curtain or Through the Looking Glass or something... give me a six pack and I will get back to you. ;)" in his ever handsome way.

But no thanks. (LOVE YOU GUAPO)

Other entries of note were "Holler at a Homie", "there's nothing like a box of pooping chickens to ruin a party" (both from Laura) and "That's What She Said".

Do I look like a Homie?

Another giggler? "kcabyxes. its sexyback spelled backwards." But then I'd spend more time explaining my blog title than I would actually blogging. But if all else failed, that one was it.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Yesterday I was driving around with a pair of slippers, an 18 pound turkey and a 40 gallon garbage bag of tin cans in my back seat. All while going from acupuncture to the dentists. And while wearing a skirt, nonetheless.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Remember that guy from yesterday? The cute, fat one? Well, that cute fat one hyperventilated and basically "EXPLODED" all over his cat carrier and the vet's office tonight.

Don't let that cuteness fool you. Oh no. That guy is SNEA-KY.

He waits until you are PULLING IN THE DAMN PARKING LOT before letting loose from both ends.

He's kind enough to give you a few warning signs though. Like FOAMING AT THE MOUTH and BELLOWING LIKE HE'S ON FIRE. I should have taped it... but wait... I was sticking my head out the window so that I could stop dry heaving.

Like I said, he looks cute and all, but just you wait.

It's all fun and games until the cat starts sharting.

Aint it boy?

And the kicker? $130.00 later, we're walking out to the snow-covered car that's DEAD and had to be jumped by a vet tech. AND we have to go back in 3 weeks because Mau was too distraught to get his vaccinations. The great part? We now have kitty tranquilizers for the next car ride and Mau is nice and clean from the bath he got when we finally made it home.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sometimes I forget that Christmas is not right around the corner. We still have Thanksgiving dinner to eat, the first snowfall to come, out first trip out on the slopes and our snowblower has yet to arrive. But this weekend, you would have thought that Christmas is next week in our house.

You're going to hate me, I promise, when you hear this next bit of news.

I have 90% of my Christmas shopping done!(I warned you, you know)

Still there? Well, you're REALLY not going to like me now. I also have my hand-stamped Christmas cards done AND we put the tree up just a few hours ago.

See?

But that's where my production ends and the mess in our house begins. It's not that I don't have miles and miles of laundry to go before I sleep, because I do. But the Jingle Bug has bitten and I just had to decorate! Greg and I pulled everything out from the storage room in the basement and while he got to fluffing the tree, I finished up my cards.

Here's a picture of the mess we left behind.

And another.

And another.

The cats? Well Stella and Mau decided that they wanted to 'help' by chewing on the branches and then plopping themselves under the tree, as if in approval.

And Mau? Well, he's forgiven because he's so damn cute.

And fat.

Needless to say, we haven't done much tree fluffing today. And we're not putting oraments up until later this week or next weekend.

I also found this awesome piece of art while I was Chirstmas shopping! It calls for drywall studs or something manly like that, so Greg's got to hang it up, hence why it's next to the couch and not above it.

And Max? Well, he's stopping by to spread the love and give kisses.

Okay, so I took that picture about 3 weeks ago. You caught me. But telling you that Max slept through the entire thing was so, well, insulting. If I can't entertain the cat, who can I entertain? You? Please? PLEASE?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Something shitty happened today. And yet, rather than mope about it, we all went out to celebrate. You see, my friend Kate has been waiting MONTHS to finally find out that her department has been officially, 100% outsourced. And when I say months, I mean since January. While, slowly, everyone around her was let go, the final group of them were kept on. I can't imagine going through it and she's been amazing at keeping a positive attitude about it. The final word came this morning. (It's about time, right!?)

So Kate, Katie and I went out for sushi at a local hot spot.

They have the best sushi for miles. And not just because they are the only place for miles, but because they're just fabulous. When given a choice between going to Milwaukee for sushi or eating there, I choo, choo, choose them every time.

Enough about that - let's get to the pictures.

See that scarf? I bought her that in Scotland. ;)

Oh, did I mention I ate OCTOPUS?

Oh, I didn't? Well let me show you the proof!Yeah, not a big fan. Can you tell?

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

There's something magical about the first big snowstorm of the year. Not only does it mean digging through the summer and spring pile-up to find your shovel, ice scraper, mittens and sanity; it's the first time we get to load up the boards and hit the slopes.

One of the hardest parts of boarding is getting all the right gear. Once you get the gear, you're set for quite a while. Or, if you're like me, until you get a new board and want everything else to match said board.

Here's my gear - Coat and Pants first. Greg bought me this awesome Northface jacket for Christmas last year. And I bought these Burton pants on sale before our trip last year.

UPDATE: I bought a the following pair of cream board pants today. Not matching drives me crazy! :)

About Me

I thought I had a normal pregnancy, until Noah was diagnosed as Severe Intrauterine Growth Restricted. A month later, I was on hospital bed rest away from my family. One month after that, Noah entered the world in a blaze of glory at 30 weeks and 3 days, 1 pound, 10 ounces. Being a NICU parent changes you in a way that profoundly changes your life and how you view the world. Our journey has been filled with many steps forward and a few big ones back, but it's also filled with hope, love and blessings. Through it all, there's HOPE. Noah has shown that although he is tiny, he is also mighty. It would be our pleasure if you would join us on our journey.